The present invention relates generally to packaging devices, and more particularly to comestible packaging devices.
It has long been recognized that packaging of comestibles must be highly automated to be economically feasible, since the costs of manual labor have climbed skyward in recent years. Thus, several devices have been devices for automatic packaging of comestibles; see for example Ehe et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,531, Wahle U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,555, Voullaire U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,330.
Likewise, it is known that packing the fruit into trays is helpful in protecting the goods, see Stuart U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,095. Also, Sandmeyer U.S. Pat. No. 2,893,550 teaches that the pockets in alternate trays may be arranged so that the trays may be "nested", or closely stacked atop one another for subsequent packing into cartons.
Although the foregoing patents teach means by which packing, and in some cases automatic packing, can be expedited, none of these disclosures provides means for actually placing trays or stacks of trays into cartons, a necessary step in preparing the fruit for shipment. Holmes U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,899 discloses a means for placing the trays in stacks using a spring-loaded discharge conveyor which is positioned vertically be means of a post having vertically spaced collars. However, no means is disclosed for placing the tray stack into a carton. Johnson et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,623 discloses a means for packing citrus fruit into cartons without first placing the fruit in trays. An empty carton is placed on a shelf supported by a post, the post having therein several notches. As each layer of fruit is deposited in the carton, a star wheel arrangement permits the post and its associated shelf to be lowered by one notch, until after several steps the carton is full. However, bruising of the fruit is likely to occur since the fruit is deposited directly onto the next lower layer.
While the Holmes and Johnson disclosures provide rudimentary means for packing fruit into cartons, neither provides a means for packing trays of fruit into cartons in a manner which ensures that the fruit is rapidly but safely and securely packed into cartons for shipping.